2023 Rock Creek (MD) offensive tackle Kahari Finley took in his first college game when he attended Maryland’s 62-0 win over Howard on Saturday. The experience wasn’t lost on the 6-foot-5, 267-pound tackle as he basked in the gameday atmosphere.
“It was a good day. I liked how the Maryland offense swarmed them,” Finley told Inside the Black and Gold. “It was a good experience overall. I’m going to go back to another Maryland game.”
Finley also connected with 2024 teammate Mike Williams, 2023 DeMatha athlete Dante Lovett, and Wise QB Jayden Sauray on the visit, but the level that Maryland executed at during the game was hard to ignore. “It was Howard but they still performed at a high level so I liked that a lot.”
Finley connected with offensive line coach Brian Braswell just prior to the game as his genuine connection with the Terps’ staff is something the 2023 tackle appreciates early in the process.
“Definitely the coaches are one thing. They believed in me before I believed in myself because coach Locksley was talking to me about the depth on the offensive line and he needs to keep the talent at Maryland. He wants to keep all the hometown players at Maryland, just like Alabama keeps all the Alabama kids and Florida keeps the Florida kids. I just like how coach Locksley is doing that and I really appreciate him believing in me.”
Finley reaffirmed his belief in the way Locksley runs the Terps’ program. “I like how coach Locksley runs the program. He does a very good job knowing his players and his recruits and it’s a lot of love out of Maryland. Coach Locks, he knows how to run his program. He’s a great coach.”
With that, Finley and 2024 teammate will look to return for the Iowa game on October 1. “That’s the game I’m going to try and go to.” Finely also holds game invitations from Liberty, Marshall, and Temple for this season but is unsure if he can attend due to Rock Creek primarily playing on Saturday.
After suffering a 56-18 season-opening loss to St. Edward (OH), Rock Creek bounced back last week with a 42-0 win over Archbishop Carroll as they're set for game number three on Friday against Johnson Central (KY). The first season as a starting tackle has given Finley a chance to truly evaluate his game and he knows what phase of his game that he needs to focus on.
“Definitely show some aggressiveness on run blocks. I feel like my pass protection is elite, I just feel like I need to work on my run blocking then after that, I’m a complete offensive tackle.”
Finley is unrated by 247Sports.